The Child of Darkness and Light
by Alexander Ingham
Summary: The adventures of a child of a mortal woman and a heartless ::Chapter 4 now up::
1. Recklessness

Disclaimer: This is a story based on characters from an original RPG, which is in turn based off of Disney and Squaresoft's Kingdom Hearts. All original characters are property of myself, or their respective creator's. All Disney or Squaresoft characters are property of their creators and companies. ~~~~~~~  
  
It was once said, there is always darkness, and that in darkness is where it always began...and suddenly, there is light, as there always is at the end.  
  
Two eyes stared blankly ahead. The crimson hue of one catching the rays of the fading sun outside his window, giving a faint glow. The brown eye was shrouded in the shadow of the darkening room. The boy sat quietly, staring at the blank wall of his room before him, his breathing slow and even, like the slow methodical splash on waves on the shore. He slowly stood up from his desk, his books and schoolwork scattered over it. He stretched, his small wings spreading with the stretch, his white, feathered-wing spread to the left, while his other black, bat-like wing spread to the right. He folded his wings behind his back again and walked to the trap door on the floor. He pushed open the small door and lowered the folding ladder that led up to his attic bedroom.  
  
"Mom, I finished my homework, can I go outside and play now?" He called as he pushed the ladder back up and closed the attic door. He frowned as he didn't receive an answer, and walked into the small kitchen, "Mom, I said I'm done with my homework, can I go out now?" The woman in the kitchen stopped washing the dishes for a moment, her long brown hair brushed against the large white wings on her back as she turned to look at her son. Her yellow fur seemed more golden in the dying light of the day, her brown eyes seemed to smile at him. The boy's long black tail, which was crooked like a lightning bolt, swished back and forth a tad impatiently. He had turned thirteen only a month ago, but he always seemed much older then that.  
  
"Well if you're done I suppose you can go out for a little while, but don't stay out too long Shinta, it gets dangerous late at night." She said, smiling at him, noticing how much he looked like his father when he was about Shinta's age. The boy nodded and quickly ran out the door.  
  
"Bye mom, I'll be careful!" He called back, knowing full well that once he got to his friend's house they were going to be doing things that no one would call careful...  
  
Shinta raced across the Calm Lands as he tried to get to the meeting point, where his friends were waiting for him. He slowed to a slow jog as he saw his two friends in the distance, sitting by one of the many craters scattered across the land. He grinned as he finally made it over to them.  
  
"Hey guys, sorry for keeping you waiting, but my mom made me finish my school work before I could do anything." Shinta said, panting slightly as he stopped next to the crater.  
  
"Yeah, well, are you ready now? Cause if we wait any longer we're probably going to miss out!" said one of the other boys as he stood up. Shinta nodded and the three boys started walking out deeper into the Calm Lands, heading towards Mount Gagazet. They stopped and quickly pulled out their monster catching tools. "The guy down at the arena said he was looking for a Malboro, and that he'd pay us a lot of money if we catch him one!" the boy said as he finished getting his weapon ready.  
  
"Alright, I'll go up and try and find one!" Shinta said as he beat his wings and flew up into the air. He looked around for a few minutes, and finally let out a triumphant cry and swooped back down, "I saw a pair of them a little ways to the East! Lets go!" He then zoomed off, low to the ground as he flew towards the pair of monsters, his friends running behind to try and keep up. The young boy closed his eyes for a moment as the wind whipped past his face. He loved to fly, it made him feel alive.  
  
"Shinta! Look out!" One of the boys cried. Shinta blinked and opened his eyes just in time to see an Anacondaur's tail wiping in front of his face, and knocking him to the ground. Shinta moaned and sat up as the massive snake moved over to him. He tried to raise his weapon, but saw it laying about twenty feet away. Shinta swore under his breath as he dodged the creature's teeth striking at him. His friends were a little ways away, and were busy dealing with a few mech scouters.  
  
"This is so not how I pictured my day..." The young boy muttered to himself as he dodged the fangs again, but the snake's tail slapped into his stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of him. He choked for air, and saw a shadow move over him. The snake hissed and prepared to strike...when it let out a howl of pain as a massive sword flew from above and impaled the snake. Shinta coughed and looked up, seeing tall, pure black figure floating above him, two massive black wings sticking out from his back, and a long black cloak wrapped around him. The boy laughed nervously as the figure's blazing red eyes met his own red and brown ones.  
  
"Um.hi dad." 


	2. The Punishment

Shinta sighed, his head hung low as he flew back to his house. He looked up and saw the black shape of his father ahead of him. Shinta knew he was in trouble now. If his father had found him, it meant that his mother almost assuredly knew what he'd been doing. He and his father had both taken his friends home, ensuring that they would be safe on their own, before they started the flight for home. Shinta's father never said a word, but not that that was new or anything. His father was mute after all, his vocal cords having been cut in a battle long ago. Shinta often tried to get his mother to tell him about it, or how she had met his father. All she ever said about it was the same old thing: 'I met your father when we were both very young. We were both people fighting for the good of all worlds, and we battled through many difficult situations, which brought us closer together.' Shinta had heard that explanation so many times he'd learned it by heart...  
  
Shinta spotted the lights from his home coming closer, and thought briefly of simply flying off to hide.but that wouldn't solve anything, that would just delay the inevitable. His father touched down first and waited for him by the door. Shinta landed slowly beside his father. He looked up at the tall black figure beside him, his mixed eyes settling once more on the twin crimson, burning orbs, of his father's eyes. Shinta sighed briefly and nodded weakly, acknowledging the fate that lay in store for him behind that door. The young boy slowly stepped forward and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open, and taking a single step into the house.  
  
A blur of white, yellow and brown came flying out of the kitchen and grabbed him. The boy stumbled back as his mother wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.  
  
"Iwassoworriedaboutyoudon'tyouknowyoucouldhavebeenkilledoutthere?!Howmanytim eshavewetoldyounottogooutintheCalmLandswithoutproperparentalsupervision!?" She blurted out, almost in tears, and hardly making any sense. The black figure stepped inside the house, past the boy being smothered by his near- hysterical mother and over to the living room area where there was a simple pair of chairs and a couch. Shinta shot his father a pleading look to come and help him, but his father merely held up his hands as he sat down in a chair, signaling that he was not about to try and pry her off of him. His mother finally released him from her hug, but held onto him by his arms as she looked into his eyes, her expression changing from the near-hysterical, overjoyed mother to that of a very serious and angry one, "And if you think we are going to let you out of this house near sunset again without proper supervision, you have another thing coming! As of this minute you are grounded, you will be confined to this house for a week, I don't care if you're head is going to literally explode from not being able to go outside! Do you understand me?" Shinta gulped nervously, and nodded his understanding. "Good, then go and clean up for bed." The boy nodded again and quickly ran off, hoping that he wouldn't do anything else to make the punishment worse.  
  
She watched him go before sitting down in a chair opposite her husband. She had her eyes closed, and ran a hand through her hair. She stopped in mid motion, and one of her eyes opened, looking over at him. Her husband was silently shaking with laughter.  
  
"I take it you find something amusing about your son going out and almost getting himself killed, yes?" She asked, her eye narrowing as she looked at him. He quickly waved his hands in front of himself in defense, not wanting to incur the wrath of his wife at that moment. He slowly stopped his laughing and smirked at her, she sat up straight and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Don't you start with me about that! He acts as much like you as he does me! Oh! That is so not true!" She cried, small sparks crackling around her cheeks as she glared at her husband. The man let out a silent sigh and walked over, sitting on the couch next to her. She angrily turned away, but he simply wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her cheek. Her angry expression flickered, until she sighed, and smiled at him, "Alright...but I'm not going to go easy on him with this punishment! He should know not to do that, and if we let him just go out and do whatever he wants...I just can't even think about what I would have done if you hadn't been there to save him." The man nodded his agreement and gently kissed her head, standing her up and walking her off to the bedroom for the night.  
  
Shinta sighed as he looked at the rafters above him. A whole week of being stuck inside. He groaned aloud, his eyes scrunched closed at the thought of the agony of not being able to go outside with his friends, not being able to train fighting the wild monsters left after Sin's defeat.but more importantly, the fact that he would not be able to feel the rush of air moving by his face as he soared through the air...slowly his mind calmed and he drifted into sleep. It would be a long week... 


	3. A Terrifying Discovery

The next few days went by at an incredibly slow pace for Shinta. He would do chores inside the house, then he would do his homework, a few more chores, and then once he was finished with all his work, he would be allowed to do whatever he liked, while staying inside the house.  
  
Shinta sighed as he plopped down onto the couch. He groaned slightly as he was once again overcome with boredom. His mother was still in the kitchen, finishing up dinner for the two of them. Shinta's father was never really around much, and would usually go off wandering around the Calm Lands, or Mount Gagazet, sometimes even lands beyond that, places Shinta had never seen or heard of. But, his father would always seem to know exactly the right moment to come home if things came up while he was away. If mother was sick, his father would simply show up one day or night and stay by her side and care for his family, but as soon as she was well, he would simply go wandering off again. Shinta loved his father, but he couldn't help but feel a bit neglected at times.  
  
Shinta listened to his mother working, and sighed. He didn't know how she put up with it all the time, she never seemed angry about the fact that father wasn't around, or that he would sometimes be gone for weeks at a time. Shinta's eyes swept over the living room, searching for something, anything he could amuse himself with, when he noticed a large black...thing on the table. The boy slowly stood up and walked over to see exactly what it was. As he got closer to the table he saw that it was his mother's black stone. Shinta didn't know what it was, in fact all he really did know about it was that it had belonged to his father many years ago and that he gave it to her on one of their journeys. He picked the large gem up in his hand, admiring it closely. The gem was a bit wider then his palm, and unlike other gemstones which usually reflected and refracted light, this one was black through and through, and seemed to absorb the light around it. As he looked at the gem he slowly slipped into a sort of trance, while he held it in his palm, his other hand slowly rose and began moving toward the gem on its own. As his fingers touched the cool black surface he felt something inside of him stirring. A sort of fog seemed to come around him, crawling up his legs, then his body, his arms, and continued until covered his entire body. Shinta's heart was pounding, his eyes darted around frantically as all light was extinguished around him. He tried to move, but his body was stuck there, his hands still pressed against the gem. He felt the floor disappear beneath his feet, though he did not fall. Shinta's breathing was quick and short and his heart would not stop pounding. He felt terrified, not only of the darkness around him, but also of a feeling it gave him. This darkness felt familiar, warm almost inviting, but at the same time it was filled with anger and a dark hunger.  
  
Home...  
  
What?  
  
Come home...  
  
I don't understand. Who are you?  
  
Shinta suddenly felt ground beneath his feet and the veil of darkness lifted. Shinta's breath caught in his throat as he saw the land before him. No longer was he standing in his home, but he was in what looked like a giant cave with strange tower like buildings in the distance. Shinta slowly took a step forward as he looked around in wonder at this new world. He took one more step and suddenly gripped his chest as a searing pain filled him, blinding him for a moment. The gem fell from his grasp and landed with a dull thud. He fell to his knees, a hand clutching his heart. Time seemed to slow around him as the pain continued to burn in his breast. He gasped for air, and looked around again, his vision going in and out of focus. His ears were slowly filled with the sound of his heartbeat, beating quickly, but slowing to a soft, rhythmic pace. Another blinding flash of pain, and Shinta pressed his head onto the warm earth beneath him. Suddenly the sound of his heart stopped, and he looked up as he sensed movement. All around him pairs of yellow eyes appeared and black forms rose from the ground. There were hundreds, thousands, countless numbers of them all around.  
  
Home.  
  
Welcome home...  
  
Shinta's mouth opened in a silent scream as he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and pull him to his feet. In a flash the world of darkness and those horrible creatures was gone. He was back in Spira, standing in the living room of his family's home, his mother's gem on the ground, and his father standing before him. Scarlet eyes staring widely at his son. Shinta blinked, his heart still racing, sweat pouring down his face from terror. Suddenly he felt tears begin to run along his cheeks and he buried his face in his father's chest. He felt his father's arms wrap around him and pulled him into a tight hug. His father's chest rose and fell as he sighed silently, and his words echoed in Shinta's mind as he spoke.  
  
*I suppose I have some explaining to do.*  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I hope you all like this chapter, I decided it was time to start throwing the true plot into the story, of which more will be revealed next chapter! ^__^  
  
And now to the great people who have honored me by reviewing and reading this story.  
  
Storm: Dun worry, I don't plan to stop for a while now. ^-^  
  
Trai: Thanks, and you're right, when I read your stories he does kind of remind me of her in a way.  
  
Evening_star: Glad you liked it too, all will be explained later on, so keep reading, and hope you enjoy the other chapters! 


	4. The Explination

Shinta sat down slowly on the couch in the living room of his home. His father pulled out a chair and down facing his son. His face was a mask of seriousness and sorrow. Shinta was silent as he looked at his father. He felt his heart continue to pound in his chest as an uneasy feeling filled his stomach. He had just been plunged into a dark hellish world where monsters that Shinta had only pictured in his nightmares lived, and his father knew about it. What had Shinta terrified was not really his experience, but the idea that it was not just some strange vision, some odd daydream brought on by boredom, it was real.  
  
His father took a few deep breaths, his eyes closed in thought. When the crimson eyes opened again to peer into his sons, he spoke.  
  
*I suppose the best place to start is to tell you what that place was, and what those beings were. The world you saw was the world of Darkness, home of a race known as the Heartless. The Heartless are a race of creatures that strive to consume all other worlds, but more importantly, they feed on the hearts of mortals...* His father stopped for a moment, his chest rising and falling as he took another deep breath.  
  
"On the hearts of mortals..." Shinta muttered, looking down at his hands for a moment before looking back at his father, "Dad, before I saw that place I heard a voice.it.it said 'home' and after the vision started it spoke again, telling me 'welcome home'...what does that mean?" His father froze for a moment. Shinta could see a flicker of worry and doubt pass through his father's eyes before he shut them again. Shinta didn't hear his mother working in the kitchen anymore, which left him only with the sound of his own heart pounding in his chest and the gently rhythm of his chest rising and falling with his breaths. His father's scarlet eyes flicked open once more and this time the emotions of regret were very clear in them.  
  
*I suppose there is no delicate way around telling this to you...how I had wished that it would never be revealed, that you, your mother and I might live without its shadow over us...but it is not to be. Shinta, you see, I was born a Heartless. To my ever-lasting shame I admit that I too stole the hearts of the innocent and helped in the destruction of countless worlds...but that changed once I under wen a sort of.transformation which has changed who, and what, I am today. To the Heartless I am an abomination, because of one event that took place after a battle with a boy who wielded the power to stop the Heartless and save all worlds. I was wounded by this boy and forced to find a way to keep myself alive. I attempted to take the heart of a young boy and use that power to heal myself, but instead his heart passed into me. If that had not happened there is no way that your mother and I would have met...or had the great joy of having you my son...* His father reached out a hand to reassure his son, but Shinta quickly moved away, backing up towards the kitchen. His father stood and slowly took a step forward.  
  
"Stay.stay back!" Shinta cried. He turned around and found his mother standing in the doorway, looking worried. He quickly hugged her and moved around behind her to look at his father. His mother looked between the two and saw the look of sadness in her husband's eyes.  
  
*I shall go now...I've kept from you so much and you need to sort this out on your own.* With that he quietly turned and walked out the door. Shinta shook slightly as he watched hi father lave, then quickly shut his eyes, holding his mother tightly. He couldn't believe what his father had said...how could he have kept that from him for so many years? He grit his teeth. He didn't know what he'd do if he saw his father again that night. He felt utterly betrayed. His mother gently placed a hand on his head and sighed.  
  
"He.he didn't tell you because he never wanted you to know, Shinta...he wanted you to live a life free of the things we went through." She said, looking down at him. She hugged her son once more as he sobbed slightly, burying his face against her side. He had been put through quite a lot today...and the world he'd known was slipping away fast. She looked up at the ceiling and frowned. Why did he have to find this out now? 


End file.
